Industry 4.0: the complete guide!
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 5:02 am
Industry 4.0 is a concept that concerns the new stage of industrial development.
This new phase is guided by automation, digitalization and the intensive use of advanced tools in search of standardization and optimization of industrial operations.
Here, technologies build smart factories! Machines and systems communicate with each other, cooperating autonomously and learning from their own mistakes and successes.
That is, the concept allows the creation of automated, connected and adaptable production lines . With this, there will be greater:
Efficiency;
Flexibility;
Customization;
Reduction of costs and waste;
Quality of the final product.
Furthermore, the simplified management and high performance generated by the technologies also ensure precision . Thus, it will be possible to avoid and predict failures, generating healthier and more profitable production.
According to an article by Abepro , the basic principles of the concept are:
Real-time operation capability : here information and data are collected instantly. Therefore, it will be possible to monitor operations in the factory even from a distance;
Virtualization : with a virtual copy of the factories, the control and tracking of all processes are facilitated through sensors distributed throughout the plant and simulation software;
Decentralization : the development of a cyber-physical environment generates the constant exchange of information. And autonomous machines make the necessary adjustments, without the need for human intervention, decentralizing decision-making;
Service orientation : The Internet of Things (IoT) integrates users and machines through tailor-made systems;
Modularity : promotes flexibility by enabling modularity in production processes. This generates more dynamic and faster manufacturing to meet customer and market demands;
Interoperability : refers to the exchange of information between cyber-physical systems through IoT.
Read also: Agribusiness 4.0: understand the concept and its applications
When did the concept emerge?
The concept of Industry 4.0 emerged in Germany , at the Hannover Fair, in 2011. The objective, at the time, was to identify actions that would make German industry more competitive.
According to CGEE (Center for Management and Strategic Studies), this event highlighted initiatives that aimed to reinforce technological solutions as a basis for the development of the industry.
Two years later, in 2013, Industry 4.0 took shape in the same country and began to be seen as a fundamental process for innovation and industrial transformation .
Other countries, of course, were already sponsoring different projects and strategies that had the same goal: to revolutionize factories. To do this, they had the support of public, private, and technological organizations, research centers, and even universities.
The evolution of the Industrial Revolution
In any case, the concept is a natural evolutionary movement . Industry 4.0 is the result of the latest technological advances that can be seen in other industrial revolutions.
For example:
First Industrial Revolution (18th and 19th centuries): includes the construction of railways, the invention of the steam engine and the era of mechanical production;
Second Industrial Revolution (19th and early 20th centuries): driven by electricity and Henry Ford's assembly line, generating more agile production;
Third Industrial Revolution (20th century): influenced by the development of semiconductors, mainframe and personal computers, as well as the internet and information technology;
Fourth Industrial Revolution (21st century - Industry 4.0): refers to digitalization and the use of new technologies to drive and transform production and business models.
It is worth noting that today we are already talking about ivory coast whatsapp data Industry 5.0 . This is a concept that addresses the relationship between machines and humans , with the aim of enhancing the expertise of each one, in search of greater productivity and excellence.
However, Industry 4.0 is still more present than 5.0 because, like any major change, the concept took time to be applied. Unfortunately, today there is still a certain resistance to the adoption of new technologies .
Therefore, there is a long way to go with the focus on the full adoption of Industry 4.0. It is worth noting that the adoption of the concept not only guarantees the evolution of a single company, but of the entire sector.
This new phase is guided by automation, digitalization and the intensive use of advanced tools in search of standardization and optimization of industrial operations.
Here, technologies build smart factories! Machines and systems communicate with each other, cooperating autonomously and learning from their own mistakes and successes.
That is, the concept allows the creation of automated, connected and adaptable production lines . With this, there will be greater:
Efficiency;
Flexibility;
Customization;
Reduction of costs and waste;
Quality of the final product.
Furthermore, the simplified management and high performance generated by the technologies also ensure precision . Thus, it will be possible to avoid and predict failures, generating healthier and more profitable production.
According to an article by Abepro , the basic principles of the concept are:
Real-time operation capability : here information and data are collected instantly. Therefore, it will be possible to monitor operations in the factory even from a distance;
Virtualization : with a virtual copy of the factories, the control and tracking of all processes are facilitated through sensors distributed throughout the plant and simulation software;
Decentralization : the development of a cyber-physical environment generates the constant exchange of information. And autonomous machines make the necessary adjustments, without the need for human intervention, decentralizing decision-making;
Service orientation : The Internet of Things (IoT) integrates users and machines through tailor-made systems;
Modularity : promotes flexibility by enabling modularity in production processes. This generates more dynamic and faster manufacturing to meet customer and market demands;
Interoperability : refers to the exchange of information between cyber-physical systems through IoT.
Read also: Agribusiness 4.0: understand the concept and its applications
When did the concept emerge?
The concept of Industry 4.0 emerged in Germany , at the Hannover Fair, in 2011. The objective, at the time, was to identify actions that would make German industry more competitive.
According to CGEE (Center for Management and Strategic Studies), this event highlighted initiatives that aimed to reinforce technological solutions as a basis for the development of the industry.
Two years later, in 2013, Industry 4.0 took shape in the same country and began to be seen as a fundamental process for innovation and industrial transformation .
Other countries, of course, were already sponsoring different projects and strategies that had the same goal: to revolutionize factories. To do this, they had the support of public, private, and technological organizations, research centers, and even universities.
The evolution of the Industrial Revolution
In any case, the concept is a natural evolutionary movement . Industry 4.0 is the result of the latest technological advances that can be seen in other industrial revolutions.
For example:
First Industrial Revolution (18th and 19th centuries): includes the construction of railways, the invention of the steam engine and the era of mechanical production;
Second Industrial Revolution (19th and early 20th centuries): driven by electricity and Henry Ford's assembly line, generating more agile production;
Third Industrial Revolution (20th century): influenced by the development of semiconductors, mainframe and personal computers, as well as the internet and information technology;
Fourth Industrial Revolution (21st century - Industry 4.0): refers to digitalization and the use of new technologies to drive and transform production and business models.
It is worth noting that today we are already talking about ivory coast whatsapp data Industry 5.0 . This is a concept that addresses the relationship between machines and humans , with the aim of enhancing the expertise of each one, in search of greater productivity and excellence.
However, Industry 4.0 is still more present than 5.0 because, like any major change, the concept took time to be applied. Unfortunately, today there is still a certain resistance to the adoption of new technologies .
Therefore, there is a long way to go with the focus on the full adoption of Industry 4.0. It is worth noting that the adoption of the concept not only guarantees the evolution of a single company, but of the entire sector.